Rent Neighbouring Sounds (2012)
3.4 of 5 from 132 ratings
2h 6min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
The convergences and complexities of life in a middle-class suburb of Recife, Brazil, are played out in mesmerising style in this stunning debut feature from film critic turned director Kleber Mendonca Filho. Taking a broad, diverse set of strikingly realistic characters -including a bored housewife seeking solace in technology, a descendant of colonial landowners struggling with his dark, mysterious past and a security company employed to provide protection to them all - Filho paints a rich, detailed portrait of a community connected and engulfed by fear, desire and the incessant murmur of modern life. A beautifully subtle, fiercely intelligent and utterly engrossing snap-shot of present-day Brazil, this bold, compelling and endlessly intriguing film has announced one of the most exciting new voices in contemporary world cinema. - Actors:
- Ana Rita Gurgel, Caio Almeida, Maeve Jinkings, Dida Maia, Felipe Bandeira, Gustavo Jahn, Irma Brown, Mauricéia Conceição, Graziela Santos da Rocha, Gabriela Santos da Rocha, Júlio Rodrugues, Rubens Santos, Bruno Negaum, Arthur Canavarro, Allyson Arruda, Lula Terra, Rejane Régo, Malu Tavares, Filipe Branco, Clara Pinheiro de Oliveira
- Directors:
- Kleber Mendonça Filho
- Producers:
- Emilie Lesclaux
- Writers:
- Kleber Mendonça Filho
- Aka:
- O Som ao Redor / Neighboring Sounds
- Studio:
- Artificial Eye Film Company Ltd.
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Drama, Thrillers
- Collections:
- New waves of Latin American Cinema, What to watch by country
- Countries:
- Brazil
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Reviews (1) of Neighbouring Sounds
Subtle and intriguing - Neighbouring Sounds review by TE
The sights and sounds in this very watchable film are full of hints and discreet nods. There is a nagging sense that more is happening off screen than on it. The facial close-ups are particularly telling.
The director's light touch works well, though there is perhaps insufficient character development to make us care too much about the security concerns of these upper middle class Brazilians. There is almost a feeling of catharsis when the wealthy patriarch gets his come uppance in the end.
Filho also works plenty of wry humour into the meandering narrative.
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Critic review
Neighbouring Sounds (aka O Som ao Redor / Neighboring Sounds) review by Alyse Garner - Cinema Paradiso
A tense, urban and auditory stimulating Brazilian piece from first time feature film director and writer Keiber Mendonça Filho Neighbouring Sounds (Portuguese title O Soma ao Redor) is an examination of a densely populated city street in North Eastern Brazil.
Opening with one of those everyday petty crimes all too familiar to those living in cities Neighbouring Sounds unfolds around the presence of a newly arrived security firm who promise to bring some much needed safety to the uneasy residents. With character’s whose lives are already troubled with both the major and minor problems of the working and middle classes: including a frustrated and desperate mother whose new born can not sleep for the constant barking of a local dog and whose physical frustration can only be released through a lone sexual encounter atop a washing machine, or cousins who tenuous familial link to an ex-plantation owner makes a constant undercurrent of fear and uncertainty, never mind the normal problems of a dysfunctional family; Neighbouring Sounds is an engaging and intense exploration of a world still overshadowed by a recent past that included slavery and class and race segregation.
Filho’s use of sound is, as the film’s title suggests, the central theme of the piece; the constant cacophony of such an over populated place juxtaposes itself against a chilling silence in a dream sequences that forces the audience to question which of the two extremes is most comforting.
With a hugely open ended finale Neighbouring Sounds may well frustrate many viewers, although this is all part of its gravitas; with out the ambiguous and ambivalent ending Filho’s film surely would not truly mirror the mixed reality of those living in such situations. For the more open minded and expressive viewer Neighbouring Sounds offers a smorgasbord of emotional experience and a number of strong performances that bring the wonderful but troubled characters to life.